Museum, park attendance high during recession

Free the mind from everyday burdens by going to the museum and become a participant in Indiana’s cultural tourism, said Laura Pinegar, public relations coordinator for the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Because the price of admission at the museum is free, people are still attending even during the recession, Pinegar said.

“I think that despite the economy, people are still eager to come to the museum,” Pinegar said.

Traveling to the Indianapolis Museum of Art or other local museums and parks is an activity known as cultural tourism. The Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University has found evidence that attendance at these venues will stay strong during the recession. The center also found that, despite the continued attendance, the recession may cause governments and private endowments to reduce financial support for them.

The findings were presented in a report titled “Cultural Tourism in Indiana: the Impact and Clustering of the Arts and Creative Activities in this Recession.” Indiana cultural tourism accounts for $4.9 billion in economic activity, generates $43 million in business-related taxes and employs more than 43,000 workers, according to the report.

The report also found that these cultural actives clustered around major metropolitan areas like Indianapolis as well as universities. Monroe County was ranked among the top 10 in the state in terms of output and employment in arts and creative sectors.  

Pinegar said though there has been no obvious drop of in attendance, private donations to the museum have been down. She said sales at museum shops are less than what had been budgeted for and that with Indianapolis entangled in its controversy over the Capital Improvement Board, it is unclear how much funding the museum will continue to get from the city.

Julie Ramey, community relations manager for the City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation Department, said it was difficult to estimate attendance at the parks her department manages but doesn’t think there will be an obvious decrease because the costs of attendance are low. She said there was record attendance at the municipal golf course and pool.

Noting her department’s reliance on the city budget, Ramey said the Bloomington City Council and mayor work hard to ensure that there is adequate funding. She also said local businesses were still supporting summer concerts.

”Are businesses still willing to support parks and recreation?” Ramey asked. “That’s what we are seeing.”

The Ball State report found that zoos might actually see an increase in attendance during recessions. According to Judy Gagen, director of communications at the Indianapolis Zoo, attendance has been down a bit, but weather might have been a factor. She said the new Komodo dragon exhibit was proving popular.

Gagen said the zoo gets some funding, which may be cut, from the Arts Council of Indianapolis, but she stressed this amount of funding was small and that the zoo operates as a basically private institution. She said private funding was very important, making up a little more than $4 million of the zoo’s revenue. There has been a noticeable decrease in private funding, but it has been budgeted for, Gagen said.

“You could see it coming,” Gagen said. “It’s not a surprise.”